Nightmares and Daydreams
by aquafreak
Summary: In which Bartz and the Warrior of Light narrate their thoughts, experiences, and the dreams that continue to haunt their memories from the past. Not a slash fanfic.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything here except the plot of this story. Dissidia belongs to Square Enix.

**A.N**: Hi! It's been two years since I began to write on the Dissidia: Final Fantasy fandom, and write my first fanfiction (that is, a DFF fanfic) on this website. Though this might not be the best fanfic that I can come up for my comeback as aquafreak, please excuse some of my mistakes that might be present on this piece of fiction that are (but not limited to): OOC-ness, misuse of punctuation marks, lack of capitalization and some grammatical errors. Or point them out to me in a constructive review without flames of any kind. And if you liked this story, please let me know about your thoughts. I may (or may not) make this as a multi-chaptered fanfiction, depending on how much procrastination will get the best or worst of me.

That said, I am not stalling you any longer. Please enjoy!

~Nightmares and Daydreams: A Deluge of thoughts~

* * *

What– Where am I? I squinted my eyes on the sudden light.

I woke up in a world of grey, white and a bit of light green. What's that touching my skin... Water? Such a tingly sensation. But if it's water, why are my hands not wet when I rubbed my eyes? Or at the very least, have some of it seep through my armor?

Putting the surrounding's water aside, I stood up and took a look around. The coast is clear from some enemies, and there's some kind of wide-shaped throne on the middle. I glided upon the translucent, light green rails– It's quite an Aerial view from up there.

Thank God, the hazy fog inside my head has subsided... somehow. Putting my thoughts into order, I silently conclude to myself that I am in some sort of sanctuary. I was already on my way on leaving the somewhat monochrome place– until a man made of crystal suddenly dashes to my direction, that is.

I'm not even sure that it's a man at all. It seems to be an almost-perfect replica of a man, though now I'd like to refer to this 'crystal person' to a 'crystal warrior' for he unsheathes a copy of my sword as some form of taunt.

" If you wish to fight, " I say, bringing out my choice of weapons as well. " ... Then I shall not refuse. Though I hope that this will not lead to a bloodfest. "

And now I find myself dueling a crystal warrior, though not really with my full strength for it will wear me out. He reminds me of someone in a dream that I've had earlier, this warrior looked like somewhat of a comrade.

* * *

The battlefield in my dream is divided into two. One devoured (although 'in the process of being devoured' will be the proper term) by the hellfires of Chaos and Discord. While the other one is surrounded by shallow waters, as if it's delivering some kind of harmony. The two sceneries are separated by a low hill in the middle and the separated lands end with a low plateau.

From the lands of Discord, ten people with the capability to fight stands on the plateau. Warriors they may be, I cannot detect the extent of their powers from afar... Yet. Mere observations are not enough to know their motives and such. And here I am standing on the opposite plateau with nine people that I am not even affiliated nor acquainted with.

The first warrior is a Weapons Master. Second is a youth that has braver and agility far more than his age. Third is a Paladin that has his destinies tied with darkness. Fourth is a Mime whose skills you can attribute to the winds. Fifth is a girl that held immense power inside her. Sixth is a wielder of a gigantic sword of his size. Seventh is a gunblader that has a Pride comparable to the Lion. Eighth is an agile thief that has a monkey's tail, as odd as it may be. And lastly, the ninth warrior has a personality as bubbly as his weapon.

Now hold it for a while. Those weren't my thoughts– as if it's somebody's voice inside my head. Now that I've thought about it; my companions as of now are looking at each other, as if they are familiarizing with each other's faces. Looks like that voice didn't pop only in my head.

The lava is still roaring out on the other side. It looks like it's forming some sort of shape, a figure that will identify you as a demon. From the way I see it– I see wings, large horns, arms with horned joints and clawed fingers and a gargantuan body. Two of my 'companions', the mime and the thief, are looking up to the skies with an amazed expression. The movement of the clouds are rather odd, a shape is also forming up at the skies. But it's nothing of a demon's– it looks like a lady's body, with a serene smile plastered on her face and her left arm reaching out to somewhere.

The fiery demon lets out a roar, and did a gesture that signaled his warriors to charge upon us.

I felt that I have something to do while the enemies are still dashing towards us. I raise my sword near my face, and as I close my eyes for a moment I muttered a whisper– that I know is a call for the Goddess above the skies to lend us her guidance. The others are still waiting for me to do the signal, and I have a feeling from the pit of my stomach that my small prayer didn't fall to deaf ears. The words I've uttered has been heard, and as if it was on cue, the moment I open my eyes we went to dash to the enemy warriors.

As my sword clashed with– What was his name? Garland, was it?– An all-out battle has begun. An unwavering battle that lasted for hours... days... and weeks, at maximum. We've used up all the ounce of our energy on battling the enemy. The Gods, represented by the fires and the clouds, continue to reach out to us. They replenish our lost strength whenever they can, and whenever we need it.

And after that strenuous battle– Black.

The last thing I know is that I've woken up on this Sanctuary.

* * *

I'm not sure if that dream really happened in reality, but now I remember. The crystal warrior I'm currently battling is a faux version of the Mime. So it's a Fallacious Wanderer, huh? You can put up a good fight, but I'll show you better.

I brought up my shield to him, and performed 'Daylight' on him. Then I performed a midair bravery attack on the crystal warrior– 'Crossover'. Realizing I made him suffer a bravery break, I chain my bravery attack with an HP one.

" Blade of light! " I call, and performed 'Rune Saber' on him. I think I have enough EX force to go to EX Mode, so I did.

" To shine brighter! " I say, and I transformed from a Warrior to a Knight.

Before he had a chance to attack me, I gained the first hand. " Bathe in the light! "

A wave of light strikes the Fallacious Wanderer, and I didn't hesitate to enter EX Burst.

" I give my all, to this sword. "

I give him series of bravery attacks, and now I prepare for the final blow. " Prepare! "

" You're finished. " I said in a whisper, as I hit him with my sword, strong enough for me to deal HP damage. I exit my EX Mode, and as I descend from midair I watched the False Warrior shatter to shards.

I pick up some of his remains– Battlegen can be quite useful when the time comes. I again scanned the surroundings if ever there are more Crystal Warriors I need to dispatch. I suddenly have the need to regain my lost energy from my dream (that I supposed happened to me in reality), and to somehow reunite with my newfound comrades.

Speaking of that, I see the original version of the Crystal Warrior I just fought and watch him run to me from a distance.

" Heyy! " he called to me from afar, waving his hand in the process. I smiled at him, but not necessarily a grin. Then he comes to me, panting.

" Greetings, fellow warrior. " I greeted, and the lad seem to grin in a sheepish way.

" Dang... Luckily I found you! I think I lost Zidane on the way here, reasons unknown... " he said to me.

" Zidane? " I ask.

" Oh, you don't know his name yet... " he pouts. " He's the thief that I'm always with. Y'know, that guy with a tail? "

Suddenly it came up to me. The blonde warrior with a bright smile on his face and tail that seemed to twitch forever. " Ah, him. It's also a relief that I've found you, a proof that my dream really happened. "

" Dream? You meant the Battle of the Gods right? "

" Is that what it's called? "

" Hm, yeah. Got it from Zidane. "

We talked about some things that happened during the battle. Also he shared to me the things happened to him once he woke. I now knew that those Crystal Warriors are called 'Manikins' and indeed they are almost-perfect warriors, like I assumed. I also told him what happened to me, told him that he appeared when I just finished battling the manikin version of him.

After that, is awkward silence. Thankfully he decides to break the ice.

" So... What's your name? " he ask. Tricky question you got there.

" A nameless warrior is what I am. " I reply. Really, I've meant what I said.

" Hm... So you're just a Warrior of Light, then? It's not a bother to you when I call you that, right? " he ask.

" Not at all, " I lie. As weird as it may be, I just want to be referred as 'this warrior' or 'him'.

" But... That's too long. Maybe calling you simply 'Light' suits you better. So, which one? "

I stifle a chuckle. " Either way will do, lad. "

" Light it is, then! " he announced. " Oh, and by the way... Name's Bartz Klauser. Try to refer to me on my given name, yeah? " he smiled.

" Nice to meet you, Bartz. " I said. We walk our way to the 'Crystal World', where we can probably find Zidane.

" Light... " I trail off. I kind of like that name.

* * *

And that's it for now! Again, please let me know your thoughts about this story. Reviews are always appreciated, and thank you for reading even if you reviewed or not.


End file.
